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New Images from the Archives

We are continually adding new content to the KCHistory.org website here in the Missouri Valley Special Collections. Just recently we digitized and uploaded over 100 images from newly processed collections and miscellaneous acquisitions to our digital collections of General Photographs, Assorted Images, and Maps.

The First National Bank building, built in 1906 at 10th and Baltimore, was designed by the prominent architect firm Wilder and Wight. The building was expanded and remodeled several times, including a large addition north of the main building in 1964. Shortly after the bank moved its main branch to 1200 Main Street in 1999, the Kansas City Public Library moved into the building. Photographs from the First National Bank Collection (SC201) not only show employees and presidents of the bank, but also exterior and interior images of the building before it was repurposed as the Central Library.

A collection of Speas Vinegar Company material (SC200) includes photographs of the men who started the Speas company, as well as the Speas Vinegar plant in the East Bottoms of Kansas City. John Wesley Speas bought the Monarch Vinegar Company in 1888, and then became president in 1895. His son Victor Speas took over the company in 1909 and renamed it Speas Vinegar Company in 1918. The company remained in business until it was sold to Pillsbury in 1978 following the death of Victor Speas.

Additional photographs and maps have also been digitized and added to the General Photograph Collection, including photographs of the Western Sash and Door Company, Thomas J. Pendergast, a Kansas City Black Panther Party Press Conference, and a 1934 Housing Survey Map of Kansas City. Make sure to check back on our website as we continue adding to it.

About the Author

Kara Evans is a Collections Archivist in the Missouri Valley Special Collections.